


10 Long Years

by NotSoHotsuin



Category: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, No Angst, childhood AU, ok maybe a little angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-06 11:38:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11035446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSoHotsuin/pseuds/NotSoHotsuin
Summary: A take on Daichi’s relationship with Hibiki from the age of 8 to 18, and how much it developed over time.





	1. Don't I know you?

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to make at least one multichapter fic that was only Hibidai/Hibichi focused. This is the fic. I hope you enjoy~ It might be a bit longer in the future, though.

It was lonely on the swingset. He let his feet gently tap against the damp grains of sand, restlessly trying to pass time until his parents came to pick him up. Droplets of rain cut into his skin like a shower of needles.

It was so cold.  
  
Where were they?  
  
Did they forget?  
  
_...Again?_

  
Daichi leaned his head back and gazed up at the colorless sky. It got dark much faster around autumn. If he had not sat at this exact same spot multiple times through both hail and rain, he would have been worried. The worst part was not playing the waiting game; It was forgetting an umbrella. The expression he wore was not one of concern, but of apathy. He was not hopeful his father would come pick him up anytime soon. Knowing him, he probably still sat in on a very important meeting. Daichi could not begin to understand why it was so important. He asked sometimes, but forgot the explanation five sentences in. The world would be so much easier if questions could be answered with a simple yes or no.

Do you love me?  
_Yes._  
  
Can you help me with my homework?  
_No._  
  
Can you come pick me up?  
No answer.

His phone had ran out of batteries, but that was fine. His father knew where to find him. All he had to do was stay in this one spot, no matter if it poured. The sound of rain had become something akin to static. It was what he heard when he completely tuned out the world around him.  
  
At the corner of his eyes, he caught the glimpse of a kid with a bright white raincoat. Daichi did not pay attention to him, but he was aware that this kid had also been waiting around for quite some time now. As much as he wanted to strike conversation to keep himself entertained; he had grown accustomed to sitting alone. Trying to change it now was only going to make him get his hopes up next time he had to wait to get picked up from school.

Some time passed, and the white figure Daichi followed with his eyes on occasion had been walking around school grounds rather disoriented. Either he had no clue where he was, or he was just trying to pass time by pacing around. He almost looked like a ghost, and was about as easy to lose track of. Daichi would have waited inside had they not closed up at 6 PM. There was really no cover for them to make use of except for a tree that lingered a bit over the swingset.  
  
When the pale figure came back into view after wandering around their main building, he came to a full stop in front of the playground. Small feet took hesitant steps into the sand, and walked over to a spidernet structure they used for climbing. It was a rather poor shield for his reflective coat, and did not hide his figure well in the slightest. The way he was crouching near one of the pillars gave Daichi the impression he was trying to sneak up on him.  
  
Daichi continued to follow him with his eyes, trying not to turn his head in order to avoid hinting he cared for whatever prank was about to take place. That was what this had to be. They usually attacked in a group, but this one might be a little more brave. Just to be cautious, he stayed aware of his movements. The figure quickly seemed to notice the net was not giving him enough cover, and decided to climb into the playhouse next to them. It worked. Daichi could not see him anymore, but he could hear him slither through the plastic tube that connected to the slide on the other side, so the mystery was near to none. Actually, now that he thought about it, the tube might be a safe place to stay during rain. If only it was not too narrow to sit in. The rooftop of the house was damaged and never got replaced, so there was no way he could find shelter inside.

  
When he heard a sliding noise, and the faint sound of someone falling or brushing themselves off, he took it that the kid was now almost right behind the swingset. When a hand came to pat his shoulder, Daichi turned his head to see the face of the mysterious figure who was bored enough to come talk to him. Well, he was not too disappointed to be noticed. He had someone to talk to now. It only took removing every other child and teacher from the school to get someone to look his way. He brushed that thought aside.  
  
“Hi,” His mysterious schoolmate was a boy with black hair and blue eyes. From the looks of things, he was a little taller, but not tall enough to be considered one of the middle-school children. If anything, they looked about the same age. That took some of the pressure off. Middle-school kids were harder to run from. Daichi glanced down at the hand that was still on his shoulder, then back up at the figure before him. The kid looked rather blank- almost as if he had no clue what to say or how to approach him. To be honest, Daichi was not sure why he even came up to speak with him in the first place.  
  
“You’re a horrible spy,” The other kid raised his eyebrows and removed his hand. That reply seemed to confuse him somewhat.  
“...A...Spy?”  
“You made a lot of noise,” Daichi suppressed the urge to smile. “Also, you’re in all white. I can see you from my house,” His house; the place he wanted to be right now. His house was mostly empty, but at least it was dry and warm. Now that he took a closer look and saw a striped shirt underneath the raincoat, he was starting to recall a name. Some kids always pestered this boy for help with their math homework during breaks. Teachers also asked him to help wipe the giant blackboards when they handed out worksheets. Daichi was almost certain his name was _Hibiki_.  


The kid took a step back, eyes staring off to the side. Daichi really got the wrong impression of him. He seemed rather timid for someone who could start conversation so easily.

“Ah, I wasn’t trying to…” Daichi grinned before he replied.

“It was a joke!” Their eyes met again, and this time, Daichi noticed a small change to his tone. Hibiki’s expression softened, and something vaguely resembling a smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“I...see.” Although, the look was short-lived, seeing as Hibiki stared at the ground again before averting his eyes elsewhere.  
  
“Can I use the swing?” Hibiki pointed towards the other seat next to Daichi’s- a little soaked but otherwise unused. Daichi turned his head to stare back down at the ground.

“Yeah, it’s not my swing or anything,” He could have said no, just for fun, but he did not know if that joke would be pushing his luck. Hibiki seemed satisfied, and grabbed onto the chains to pull himself up on the swing in a standing position. He began to go through the motions, swinging himself up higher, but stopped before he did anything too drastic. Hibiki initiated some small-talk, but Daichi was lost on how to reply. All he could really do was hum in agreement or shake his head. His mind was preoccupied with other things, like wondering if his dad had utterly forgotten he existed, and how cold it was when the wind whipped his face.

Daichi looked rather sullen, and it was hard to enjoy the atmosphere because of the clear tension in the air. Hibiki gently lowered himself down and took a seat on the swing; letting its momentum slow naturally and bring him to a halt. He kept one knee raised to his chest so he could lean his head against it to rest a bit. His arms wrapped around his leg to keep it in place, while his gaze was focused on Daichi.  
  
There was an awkward silence as the two kids sat on opposite sides of each other, taking small amusement in how the swings rocked back and forth with little effort. That joy quickly died down as the rain got more intense. Hibiki spoke up first.

  
“I don’t think my mom’s coming…” Daichi felt for him. If he was not sure about it before, he was sure about it now; they were both trapped here.  
“I don’t think my dad is coming either…” Bright blue eyes examined the slouched figure before him. Daichi was barely communicative. Even while talking, he continued staring down at his shoes, rather than look at Hibiki. Up till now, Hibiki was sure Daichi only ever met his gaze once, and that was when he made direct contact with him.

Hibiki hated the sound of rain. It made him feel as if he was drowning. He needed something to clear the air and bring some peace of mind. That was why he took the initiative once again and broke the silence.

  
“Where do you live, anyway?”  
“Roppongi.”  
“Hey,” Hibiki sounded pleasantly surprised by that piece of information, but the tone went by unnoticed. “-that’s where I live, too.”  
“Oh, cool,” Daichi was bad at holding conversations. He had very little practice at making small-talk. After what seemed to be minutes, Hibiki spoke up once again.  
“...Want to come with?” The question had finally shaken a reaction out of Daichi, and he turned his head to look at Hibiki. He did it only to check if he was joking or not.  
“What?”  
“To Roppongi,” No, he was not joking. As lovely as it sounded to go home, there were more problems than one with that arrangement.  
“Can’t. Sorry.”  
“So, you’re just going to wait here?” Daichi did not know why Hibiki made a big deal out of it. Both their parents seem to have forgotten them. Why did staying here come off as such a shock?  
“Yeah. Phone’s dead, so I can’t call them.”  
“Can’t you go home on your own?” _Wouldn't that be ideal?_  
“No key,” Daichi misplaced his key once, and his parents had not trusted him with one ever since.  
“Aren’t your parents home?”  
“If they’re not here, then they’re not home. They pick me up after work.” The air suddenly felt thicker. Hibiki’s voice took on a different tone towards him.  
“It’s 7 PM…”  
“Long, long day at work,” Daichi laughed at little to try and ease the tension. “It’s fine! They always come to pick me up… sooner or later. M-mostly later...” A lot later.

Hibiki could go home if he so desired. He had his own house key in case of emergencies, so there was no reason for him to stay. Yet, he did not leave the playground. Daichi counted the seconds out of boredom just to pass time, or to try and make time move faster. He lost track somewhere along the line, but it felt as if they were sitting here for forever. Hibiki kept sneaking glances at Daichi, hoping he would look up, or take an interest in something else besides his shoes. The way Daichi seemed to completely block out everything that was not in his line of sight felt heartbreaking. There was only so much Hibiki could handle before he felt the urge to take action.

“...Are you cold?” It did not take a trained eye to see that Daichi did not have a raincoat or any sort of protection from the rain.  
“Not really. You get used to it,” Hibiki could see the smile on his face, but was not fooled by it for a second. It was troubling to see that Daichi was trying to pass it off as a joke to be laughed at, and that this was something that was fine getting used to.  
“Here,” Hibiki hopped off his swing to grab Daichi’s arms and pull him down on his feet. It was not until Hibiki took off his raincoat and wrapped it over their heads that Daichi realized what he was doing. The words still cut pretty deep.  
  
“We’re going to Roppongi.” Hibiki said it so matter-of-factly that it gave Daichi chills. He could handle rain, he could handle hail, but he could not handle surprises. Knowing he would be disobeying his parent’s orders if he moved from the spot was also something he did not really want to deal with.  
“Uh, no, we’re not.” He said it quickly with a dismissive tone.  
“Pretty sure we’re going to Roppongi.”  
“You, maybe. I’m staying here.”  
“Then I’m kidnapping you to Roppongi.”  
“I said--” Daichi took a deep breath, and delivered his final line with a calm voice. “-no.” He sounded so snarky and snide that Hibiki grabbed him by his shoulder and stared straight into his eyes with absurd amounts of determination. Hibiki squinted at him before his fingernails dug into his shoulder a little deeper.  
“We’re going to Roppongi.” He could tell Daichi was not used to being treated this way, because he dropped his resolve almost instantly. As afraid as he looked at the mention, Hibiki could tell he was also relieved that he did not to have to wait out here in the rain any further.

“...O-okay, then? I… guess I’m going with you?” Hibiki was not the type to intimidate someone, but that did not stop him from trying if it was for the greater good. Daichi noticed that Hibiki appeared somewhat surprised that his scare tactic worked, but he got over the shock pretty quickly before he dragged Daichi off the playground.

* * *

  
  
This was a new experience.

They snuck onto the bus, ran for their lives when they crossed the street, and almost got Hibiki’s rain coat torn when it got stuck between a door. Nevertheless, they made it to Hibiki’s house, and that was when Daichi noticed something peculiar.  
  
“...My house is right up here,” Hibiki turned to Daichi- who had not uttered a single word through their entire little adventure. Daichi pointed to give Hibiki a clue of where to look.  
“-That one. With the… black and white car in front of it?” He sounded lost.  
“Does that mean your parents are home?” There was no answer from Daichi. All he wore was a pained look on his face. When Hibiki looked back at the car, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Wait, isn’t that-” Daichi pulled Hibiki’s coat off his head and handed it to him, still keeping his gaze fixed at the vehicle.  
“-I have to go. Thanks for taking me to Roppongi, um, bye!” Daichi did not even stay to let Hibiki get a word in edgewise, he just took off.  
“Sure, no problem…” It was a little disappointing.

 

* * *

 

 

God, did he get yelled at. So, so, utterly yelled at. His father had arrived to pick him up, only to find out he was gone. The police were called, a lot of scolding happened, and he was told never to leave the school premises again without informing them about it.

It was not fair. It felt as if adults could do as they wanted, when they wanted, and not answer to what they had done. Daichi understood why he had to listen to them; they really meant well. However, the harsh words felt horribly unnecessary. They also hurt a lot. 

_Fine, I’m stupid. Not like I’m surprised people think that._

  
He turned the volume up to max on his phone and listened to a familiar track to tune out the rain. Daichi should have learned by his mistakes; that if he kept using his phone like this, of course it would turn off eventually, but he did not care. It was pouring again, and he was so thankful he still had an hour left to spend inside. There was a good chance the rain would subside by then. Daichi sat right near the exit on a small bench that they moved inside and never had the time to move back outside. This small corner at the very far end of the school facility had been forgotten and ignored for so long. It was the perfect place to rest and not have anyone bother him. He stared down at his shoes and bumped the heels against each other out of boredom in tune with the music.

His thoughts collapsed when he felt a hand touch his shoulder, and he fell of his seat; screaming. A familiar figure took a few steps back and raised his hands up to his chest defensively. It was Hibiki.

“Are you okay? I… didn’t mean to…”

“N-no, it’s ok!... Ah, I feel like my soul just left my body. Hang on. Give it some time to crawl back in,” Daichi took a deep breath, or rather, several deep breaths. Out of all the places to strike conversation, did it have to be in the most isolated part of the school? That thought actually raised a good question.

“-H-how do you know about this place?”  
“Um… My house is this way, so I… usually go home from this exit,”  
“...Oh.” Daichi got back up on his feet, pulled his earphones off and shoved his phone into his pocket before taking a seat on the bench again with a sigh. Up until now, he was so sure this was his own little hiding place. Staff and teachers walked by, but no kids seemed aware it existed. Either that, or it was prohibited to enter. He was not fully sure, but no one had told him to leave, and he was not bothering anyone, so it seemed harmless enough.  
  
It was easy to tell that Daichi had already zoned out and was off in his own world by the way he stayed silent. Judging by how harsh the rain poured yesterday, Hibiki thought Daichi would have some common sense and bring fitting clothes to help avoid catching a cold. However, he did say rain did not bother him. Looking at him now almost confirmed it, but it was still hard to believe. Hibiki put his hands behind his back and shifted his weight onto one foot to stand in a more comfortable position.  
  
“Mom said it’s fine if you come with,” Daichi heard him, but he did not understand what was being said. He looked up, though. Eye contact seemed to be a determinate factor in getting Daichi to do anything.  
“Um...What?”  
“She said I can go home without her if someone else is with me. You can stay in my house until your parents get home, too. You wanna come?” The friendly look on Hibiki’s face soon faded, and his eyes narrowed to look at Daichi with a serious expression. He took a step forward, almost as if to push his chest out to look intimidating.  
“...-Or do I need to kidnap you to Roppongi again?” Daichi got up from his seat fast and grabbed his backpack from the floor in a rush. The sight was actually much funnier than it should have been to Hibiki, so he bit his lip not to laugh. Hibiki had a rather soft appearance, and got teased for it a lot. That was mostly why he attempted to act tough in hopes to chase some people away. His attempts did not really work on anyone, but for some reason, it worked on Daichi. As enjoyable as it was to win in an argument for once, he tried to tone it down a bit not to make it seem as if he was forcing Daichi to tag along against his will.  
“N-no! I’ll come with you! No problem,”  
  
“You should probably ask your parents for a bus card when you get home. I think they’ll be okay with you staying with me, since we live so closeby.” That was true. Daichi had not even considered the fact they rode the bus without paying for the fare. Not that an officer was going to pull up elementary school kids for not paying for their ride, but the chance was still there even if it was slim.  
“Yeah, I probably should,” Daichi added before he put his notebook inside his bag and zipped it shut. He started walking next to Hibiki once they stepped outside, but turned to face him once they got past the school gate. “-Thanks,” Hibiki had a curious look on his face.

  
“Thanks? For what?” The reply made Daichi stumble on words.  
“Uh, um…” He had expected Hibiki to just accept it. “-Ah, nothing,” It seemed best to drop the topic.

Was it still a kidnapping if he came along of his own free will?

* * *

  
  
“Have you played this game?”  
“Yeah,” Daichi was still trying to pay attention to his surroundings; taking in the view of how big the house really was. Hibiki’s home was not bigger than his, but it seemed chock-full of items. It gave the impression everything was cluttered and that there was very little space to move around. There were boxes all around; Some of them were open, and others were closed. The livingroom was truly a mess. The only thing that looked organized was the way the TV was hooked up.

His thoughts were interrupted when Hibiki held out a controller for him. The cartridge on the table seemed to imply they would be playing a Crash Bandicoot racing game. Daichi had the same one at home, but he was unsure of how well this was going to play out. Daichi had wanted to go up against something stronger than the AI, but he was too awkward around others to invite them back home. Then there was also the fact that he did not really like many of the kids that went to his school. He seemed to be a magnet for trouble, and always ended up attracting strange bullies who thought he’d be an easy target to push around. Considering his frail build and his thin arms, they were not wrong, but did they have to be so direct about it? Luckily, all those years of walking prepared him for a whole lot of running.  
“I… I haven’t played on multiplayer though…” The truth was, he was a little ashamed of it. Not having a single friend in his class or in any of the other classes was discouraging.  
“I haven’t either,” Hibiki said it so casually, as if it wasn’t weird at all. “-I want to see if it’s fun. I saw you playing your Gameboy in class, so I thought you’d like this one,” Daichi was speechless for a second.

  
“Wait, we’re in the same class?”  
“...Yeah.” He had a feeling he shouldn’t have said it like that. Hibiki seemed to have taken it personally. It was not that Daichi could not remember Hibiki. It was that he could not remember anyone from his class at all. There was no one there that would give him time of day. Not to give off the wrong impression, Daichi took a seat on the couch with his palms resting at the cushion between his thighs. He side-glanced at Hibiki, eyes fixed on his blue eyes and black hair.

“I always thought you were a girl,” It was hard to tell if the expression on Hibiki’s face was an upgrade or a downgrade from his previous statement. Although, the answer soon became clear when Hibiki furrowed his brows and smacked Daichi’s arm with the console. Daichi could tell he did not want to hurt him, but he did want him to shut up.  
“I don’t look like a girl!”  
“I didn’t say you look like one! No violence, please? I’m fragile, I’ll break like glass.” There was no sympathy. Hibiki only narrowed his eyes and held the console out for Daichi to grab onto.  
“Fight me,” His expression softened. “-...Daichi?”  
“Oh, yeah!-” It occurred to him just now that he never introduced himself, and neither did Hibiki. They never got the time. It made things a little harder, and he was already so poor at introductions.

“Y-yes, my name is Daichi Shijima! Um… nice to meet you?” That very robotic attempt at a greeting made Hibiki’s cheeks puff. He tried hard to keep himself from laughing but did so anyways. The conversation was going well until Daichi decided to feel self-conscious about it. Although, Daichi did admit that it felt good to make someone laugh, even if it was unintentionally. It was also the first time he saw Hibiki look less relaxed around him. It felt good. For the first time, it felt as if someone actually wanted to spend time with him. He was far too happy to turn Hibiki’s request down. Daichi took a hold of the controller and leaned back a little.

"You’re going to regret this,”

Hibiki knew he wouldn’t.

 

* * *

 

  
Daichi and Hibiki came to an agreement to walk back home together. However, it was only a few days later that they realized they might take advantage of that arrangement in a different way.  
  
“Hibikiiiiii~” Hibiki felt an arm around him all of a sudden. Daichi had ran up to his side eagerly, and was a little out of breath. He held something small in his hand that reflected in the sunlight.

“Look! I got my card. Now we can ride the bus to school together!” There was a much more clear smile on Hibiki’s face this time around.

“Starting now?” The reason Daichi ran up to him as he walked towards the bus stop seemed much clearer now. He was trying to catch the same ride.

“Yep! Let’s make it official!” Daichi never really took the bus to school because of how paranoid his parents were of losing him. It was not really overprotective behavior as much as it was a safety precaution of getting him from point A to point B. Whenever they visited the city together, Daichi would get lost and walk around aimlessly. In a way, he was just trying to better understand his surroundings, but on the other hand, he never remembered the way to get back once he was done exploring.  
  
The two of them managed to catch the bus in just the right time. They would be arriving early, but that gave them some more time to talk. At least, that was what Hibiki thought before they took a seat, and Daichi plugged his headphones into his phone. Hibiki looked away, feeling a slight discomfort in his chest. Daichi had tuned out again, and the bus ride he thought was going to feel different felt almost the same. That was, until a hand came to rest at his shoulder.

“Here, listen-” Daichi held out one of his earbuds for Hibiki to take a hold of. Hibiki was hesitant, but it was the first time Daichi reached out to him like this, and he was not one to ignore a kind gesture. He cautiously placed the earbud into his ear and let Daichi tap away at his phone until he found a medley Hibiki was unfamiliar with.

“What do you think? Aren’t they great?” Hibiki glanced at the title on his phone and shook his head.

“I like it, but… I’ve never heard of them before,” It would have usually made him tense to confess his ignorance, seeing how easily he got picked on for his looks and his interests, but Daichi was only happy to hear him answer so honestly.

“Good! Then I can show you a whole bunch of great songs! Oh, you have to listen to this one too-” Daichi flipped through multiple songs, many of which they never even heard the chorus of before they skipped to the next one. It didn’t matter much.

Hibiki was just glad Daichi had finally stopped pretending no one else was around him, and Daichi was glad to see Hibiki smile and hum in tune with the music.


	2. For Hibiki

There was a lot of things Daichi learned that came with having friends. It was fun to have the freedom to go virtually in and out of his school as he pleased with Hibiki was by his side. It was also fun to finally have someone to spend breaks with, and a study partner to help him better understand what the teachers could not explain. However, there was a lot of things he learned about Hibiki’s family as a result of staying at their place for so long. Hibiki’s parents were very asocial, and did not seem to pay him much attention once they confirmed he arrived home safely. Daichi only ever saw Hibiki’s mom walk into his room once or twice, and that was to bring him whatever item he left downstairs. Daichi tried to be friendly with her, but she only greeted him back before she returned to whatever it was she was doing before. For people so relaxed, they seemed awfully busy.

Another fact became more apparent when he decided to have a sleepover at Hibiki’s place. Hibiki’s grandparents often came to visit. They sounded horribly unhappy from the way they yelled downstairs. The first time Daichi heard them yell, he asked Hibiki if he should leave. Hibiki informed him that his presence made no difference, and that his grandparents were always this loud when they came to visit. Whenever Daichi asked him why his family appeared this strained, he stared back with utter apathy. Hibiki saw nothing out of the ordinary. He acted as if it was just something every family went through. Either that, or he did not feel like talking about it.

 

While Daichi did not understand what the grown ups downstairs were yelling about, he did know that whatever it was could probably be resolved quietly. Some sleepovers were peaceful, but on nights like this one, he could slowly start to see the ongoing ruckus tear Hibiki apart little by little. Seeing him bottle it all up and avoid talking about it was making Daichi want to reach out to him in some way.

They built a small fort out of their bed mattresses, blankets, pillows, and had a small lamp with a blue tint shine on the inside. It flickered a little, and looked as if it could fade at any time. They were both playing with their gameboy color consoles, trying to see who could defeat the elite four fastest. The echo of screeching downstairs was not letting up, and Daichi was almost certain he could hear items be thrown against walls. When he looked up at Hibiki, he saw that same apathetic look on his face. It was as if he was used to it.

In an attempt to steal Hibiki’s attention away from the game, he pulled something up from the case of his gameboy color. Hibiki looked up when he saw Daichi present an item he never really used before.  
  
“Headphones?” Daichi smiled. Curious was a good step up from indifferent.   
“Yeah. You don’t have any?”   
“Mom says they make people go deaf,”   
“I’ve been wearing mine for a year now,” Hibiki knew Daichi wore them almost religiously. Now that he gave it more thought, the idea of these small things making someone deaf was a little laughable.   
“Yeah? Is it okay?”

“What?” Daichi uttered it sarcastically, but the joke did not seem to work. Honestly, Daichi often wished he could shake the apathy out of Hibiki and make him a more easily humored person. However, that was a struggle for another day. Right now, Hibiki needed headphones.  
“No, Hibiki. I’m deaf,” This joke seemed to lighten the mood a little, and Hibiki put the headphones into his ears. Daichi plugged the cable into Hibiki’s console with a smile. The sound was much clearer and managed to block out the noise in the background. All Hibiki could really hear was the sound of his game, and Daichi.

  
“You can keep them if you want. I have a spare in my room in case these break.” There was a long pause before Hibiki replied. Daichi almost wondered if Hibiki could even hear him through the buds.   
“Daichi...” Hibiki’s hand played with the cable and twirled it around his fingers playfully. There was a faint smile on his face. “-thank you,” 

* * *

  
  
They got along so well that they were practically inseparable. It was remarkable how close they got over just a few months. They usually went to school together, and went home together, but on rare occasions they had to resort to traveling with their parents. This happened because of doctor’s visits and other necessities. Daichi was fine with it for the most part. The only downside was that Hibiki would be coming to school a little later, and that left him bored out of his mind.   
  
Hibiki should have already returned from his dentist appointment, but he was nowhere to be seen. Daichi tried to call his phone, but there was no response. Instead of calling again, he searched the school grounds until he found him. Hibiki seemed to be talking to a upperclassman. Now that Daichi got a closer look, he seemed to be avoiding talking altogether. The taller student raised his fist and managed to strike Hibiki at the side of the head. It was enough to knock him down to his knees. The bully looked as if he wanted to move in for another punch, and grabbed Hibiki by the shirt.   
  
Before Daichi had the time to think about what to do, he was already running towards them. There were no teachers around, and getting one was going to take up too much time. No one else was willing to step up, so he let his own mind take control. Before the bully had the time to move again, Daichi swung his backpack at the back of his head and managed to knock him onto his side. The element of surprised helped him catch them off guard.   
  
“Hibiki!” Daichi pulled his backpack over his shoulder and grabbed Hibiki’s upper arm to pull him up. The other student was grunting and had already gotten back up on his feet as well. It did not look as if he was going to let them get away without paying for what they had done.   
“Crap! Run!” Daichi pulled Hibiki along roughly until he collected himself and managed to pick up the pace. Hibiki ran alongside him as quick as he could manage, but he was sadly not that fast on his feet. He barely understood what was going on. One moment, he was being pushed around, and the next, he was clinging to Daichi for dear life. The bully Daichi had knocked over was running towards them at an increasing pace. It was easy to tell that they would not be able to make a clean getaway with Hibiki’s speed. They needed a plan B.   
  
“Over here!” Daichi had ran directly towards the wall that enclosed the school. This wall was a lot lower, and if they timed it right, they could easily jump across. The only downside was that there was a hill on the other side, so they’d have to slide a far way down along mud and branches to get away. It would also put them a long distance away from the school. Hibiki did not seem as if he could keep up much longer, so it was their only escape route. Daichi helped Hibiki across before he placed one hand on the brick wall and kicked himself over. He landed rather uncomfortably on his knees and had a terrible fall. Both of them slid down the hill and managed to discourage the bully from following them outside school grounds.   
  
Once the two of them reached the bottom and rolled onto solid ground, they tried to regain their calm. Daichi felt dizzy, and Hibiki was still breathing heavily. At least the escape plan worked. Barely. Hibiki was running his hands through his backpack in a valiant effort to find something specific. Once his hands caught the small, white box-looking item, he placed it on his lips and inhaled. Daichi located his own bag in the meantime, and returned to ask Hibiki if he was okay. His breathing seemed a little steadier now, but he was still shaken.   
  
“Ah...A-Astma-” He swallowed and breathed out sharply. “-can’t run,” Hibiki managed to mumble the answer out regardless of how tired he was. It was enough for Daichi to understand. They were sitting on the ground, collecting their thoughts and belongings that had scattered due to the ride down. Their clothes were utterly covered in filth, and Daichi could swear he saw leaves poking out of Hibiki’s curls.   
  
“O-oh, sorry, I didn’t… I-I mean, I couldn’t let him-” Hibiki took a couple of deep breaths and calmed himself before he made eye-contact with Daichi. Daichi would have apologized again had Hibiki not grinned widely. The expression came as such a surprise that Daichi was left speechless.   
“That was awesome!” Hibiki pushed Daichi’s arm hard enough to knock him over on his side. Daichi pushed himself up from the ground and dusted himself off before he could get a grasp of what was going on.   
“W-what?”   
“Did you see how he fell!? That was so cool! You’re amazing, Daichi!” Hibiki grabbed onto his arm and shook him with excitement. It would have knocked him over on his side again had he not grabbed onto Hibiki’s arm in return and helped himself stay put.   
“I-I am? I… Um,” Daichi felt embarrassed, and the blush on his face was only making it more clear. “I-I mean, it was no big deal, haha,” He pulled his backpack close to his side and looked away. He tried not to grin too widely, but hearing Hibiki call him amazing really did wonders to his pride. That was really the first time anyone had complimented him like that. It felt nice.   
  
“Are you okay, Hibiki?”   
“Yeah! It’s nothing bad. I just have to use this inhaler and I’ll be fine.” Daichi furrowed his brows slightly.   
“No, I mean, the bully. He hit you.”   
“Oh,” Hibiki let his hand brush the back of his neck, and pulled it over his head to see if he was still sore from the punch. “No, it’s fine. How’s your knee?”   
“My knee?” Daichi looked down and noticed he had scraped his knee against the asphalt when they jumped over the wall. There was a wide red scratch over it that was a little muddy.   
“I’ll just go to the nurse’s office as usual.” Hibiki wanted to question why this was something common, but Daichi interrupted him.   
“Why was he punching you?”   
“Um… I hadn’t done his math homework, so…”   
“Wait, you do his math homework?”   
“Well, the math is not really that hard,”   
“That’s not what I meant!” Daichi got up on his feet and held one hand out for Hibiki to take a hold of. Hibiki hesitated, but Daichi grabbed onto his hand and pulled him up anyways.   
“-You haven’t told the teachers?”   
“Um…” Hibiki looked away. It gave Daichi the impression he had actually tried talking to them. The look on his face was telling. Then again, there was not much teachers could do during breaks. Most teachers never got to see those events take place, so it was hard to take the accusations seriously. The worst thing they could do was call home to the kid’s parents, and even then, there was a good chance the parents did not care. Daichi tried to look Hibiki in the eye, but he continued to stare at the ground. The defeated expression on his face only prompted Daichi to get more serious.   
  
“Let me kick him.” That helped bring Hibiki’s attention back.   
“What?...”   
“He’s what? A fifth-grader? I can take him.” This was not a good way to go about it. It had disaster written all over it, and Hibiki was not ready to let him make such a mistake.   
“Daichi!”   
“One kick.”   
“Daichi, the teachers might see,” Daichi shrugged.   
“I get into enough trouble. One kick isn’t going to make a difference.” His parents already got called enough times for fights. Daichi could say that he defended himself, but his parents had a hard time believing his continuous stories. It was understandable, but Daichi could never figure out why his parents thought a short, below 20-kilo kid with scrawny arms would want to go around and try to fight people. Regardless, it was time to finally take action. Appointing himself Hibiki’s bodyguard gave him a new sense of purpose.   
  
“For Hibiki!” Daichi raised one fist in the air, almost as a declaration of war. Nobody was around to hear it, but in Daichi’s mind, his roar echoed and sent shivers of fear down every bully’s spine. At least, that was what he wanted to believe. Hibiki managed to pull his hand down and cover his mouth not to raise suspicion.   
“Don’t yell that! We’ll both get in trouble!” The reply Daichi offered him was muffled, so Hibiki removed his hand so he could hear him speak.   
“Why are you so worried?”   
“Please? I can’t get in trouble. Mom will…”   
“...She’ll understand, right? I mean, she shouldn’t be okay with this…”   
“Daichi, it’s not that easy to explain. Please, don’t do anything.” Daichi sighed and looked absolutely drained by the conversation. His posture was a little slouched when he pouted in dismay and raised his fist halfheartedly into the air again. “For Hibiki...” He said it in a monotone voice, as if to give Hibiki his word he would not pull some weird stunt on the bully in a feeble attempt at revenge. Hibiki seemed to have understood the message and smiled.   
“Thanks.” Daichi shifted his weight from one foot to the other restlessly, still trying to force himself to accept he could not do much to help his friend. He looked a little nervous when Hibiki spoke up.   
“Um… Shouldn’t we get back to school?”   
“...Shoot! How do we get back from here!?”   
“Y-you don’t know?”   
“Uh, um, um… L-left? Maybe?” Hibiki’s eyes widened with worry.   
“Maybe!?”   
“...We could climb up the hill?” Why was it posed as a question?   
“Daichi…”   
“...Sorry!” Daichi gave Hibiki a sheepish smile. It seemed to ease the tension a little. Hibiki could not really be mad at him. He was a little scuffed up, but Daichi did more good than harm by his little trick.   
“It’s fine,” Hibiki wrapped one arm around Daichi’s shoulders and hugged him close. “-let’s try to go around. We’ll get you to the nurse’s office first,” 

* * *

 

School definitely sucked. That was one of the early lessons in life. The teachers yelled at you if you asked too many questions, or even when you had to repeat the same question. For some reason, they seemed frustrated whenever he said he did not understand their explanation. The playground was filled with kids that were older than him and enjoyed targeting him for his fragile build. To top it all off, this facility also ran tests to measure their intelligence. Daichi would not really call it intelligence. What they really tested was their attention span, and unfortunately for him, he had very little of it when it came to teachers that were poor at explaining their teachings.   


“Our scores are up.” Hibiki was the polar opposite in a way. He studied hard, was excited for tests, and tried to do his best all the time. The playground didn’t treat him any better, and Hibiki’s home seemed far too hectic for him to study in peace. Yet, he continued to perform so well. It was only one of many reasons Daichi admired his resolve to do better. He wished he had the same determination, but he really didn’t.

“Oh, okay.” It was easy to spot when something was wrong with Daichi. His tone would drop and he would talk in whispers. It was quite an obvious tell.

“Don’t you want to know what you got?”

“...No, not really.” Hibiki was not looking for Daichi’s name on the scoreboard, but he managed to catch it anyways by accident. Eyes were weird like that. They could not stare at letters without reading them.

“Oh… why are you ranked so far down?” It didn’t bother Daichi if Hibiki knew. It was only a question of time when he figured it out.

“Because I’m stupid, I guess.” Hearing Daichi put it like that actually irked him a little.

“Daichi!”

“What? You hear kids call me stupid all the time. Now you have proof.”

“This isn’t proof…”

“It’s fine. I don’t care about my grades.” Hibiki had a hard time believing scoring low on a test meant someone was defined as stupid. He was being awfully harsh on himself for just one test.

“Hibiki, your scores are really good, though! You’re in the top 10!” Daichi’s mood did a complete 180 degree turn.

“That’s so awesome! Congrats!” Hibiki felt a little embarrassed. Especially with how quickly Daichi forgot his own misfortune and decided to praise someone else for their success. It was nice to be acknowledged, and it did make him feel happy, but Hibiki had something else in mind entirely for Daichi now that he figured out their scores.  
  
“Do you want to come to my place and study?”

“Hm? Don’t we already do homework together?”

“Yeah but, I mean… maybe I can teach you how to do math a little easier?” Hibiki held a hopeful tone in his voice. He watched Daichi stare up at the ceiling and hum as if he was mulling it over.

“Hmmm, pass.” That was unexpected.

“Pass?”

“Yeah. I don’t really know why I need this stuff anyways. Mom and Dad don’t seem bothered that I’m not doing well… so maybe it’s not a big deal.”  
“Hmm… But… If you don’t get good scores, you won’t get into a good school…”   
“That’s fine. There’s no reason for me to go to a good school.” Such an answer was completely inconceivable for Hibiki. If he said that to his mom, he feared he’d get lectured until midnight.   
  
“The school my mom wants me to go to needs high entrance grades, so I’m trying my best.” Something seemed to click for Daichi in that sentence. The way Hibiki’s mom had everything planned out for him looked rather stressful. Although, he took it as comfort as well. It must be nice to have a plan set out like that with a clear goal. He envied him in a way, even if he could not handle the same kind of pressure Hibiki was under.   
“Azabu High is a private school for boys, so… I need good grades in math, science, japanese, and hmm… some more things.” The competition to get into the high school were so rough that his mother already pestered him about it. Daichi could nail one out of three, but math and science were not his strong suit. He was better at history and english than he was at those other subjects. If he was going to get rid of his weaknesses, he needed a good tutor.   


“...So, when do we start studying?” Hibiki’s brows furrowed with confusion.  
“I didn’t think you wanted to study?”   
“I said I didn’t have a reason. Now I have a reason.”   
“Huh?”   
“If you’re going to go to some fancy school then I’m going with you!”   
“Daichi, why would you want to…” Not even Hibiki wanted to go to Azabu in truth. Then again, he did not know what he wanted yet. All he could do for now was follow his mother’s instructions, and hope that it would do him well in the future. He did also have his own reasons for listening to his mother. He could not drag Daichi with him into something he wasn’t sure was beneficial. Although, it seemed like Daichi already made up his mind. He looked really enthusiastic.   
  
“Because you’ll be there! I can’t leave my bro behind, or, er… let my bro leave me behind.” Hibiki glossed over his joke, and focused on a single word in his sentence.   
“Your… bro?”   
“You know. Partner in crime?” A smile tugged at the corner of Hibiki’s lips. A brother didn’t sound that bad. Partner in crime sounded even better.   
“My best friend watches too much TV. That’s what I’ve learned today.” Daichi was going to argue with him, but his voice got stuck in his throat when he heard Hibiki call him his best friend. A warm feeling swelled up in his chest. Now he definitely felt motivated to study more to get into the same school. It might be hard on him, but he was going to prove to Hibiki that he was worthy the title of best friend.   
  
_Just you wait. I’ll surprise you. We’ll stay best friends forever. I promise._

* * *

 

School was always hell, but it helped to get to spend part of his day at Hibiki’s place. Although, he could still hear his grandparents yell downstairs once his parents came home from time to time. They came home together sometimes, but were always bickering back and forth. Daichi could not make out a single word except for Hibiki’s name being tossed between them during their arguments. Meeting Hibiki’s parents and grandparents separately was actually very pleasant. They were very nice people when kids were present, but the walls were fairly thin. It was hard to imagine there was some reason they could not get along. After a year or two together, it only seemed appropriate to ask the question.  
  
“Your grandparents seem nice, but why do they yell all the time?” They were playing games downstairs. Nobody was home except for the two of them at this time. This helped Hibiki reply more honestly.

“They want to take me home,”

“Home? You mean, to their place?” Hibiki thought his answer over carefully for a while before he came out and said it out loud.  
“This isn’t really my home. Er, it kind of is but…” He felt nervous saying it, but judging by the dumbfounded look Daichi was giving him, it looked like he had to be blunt.

“I was adopted. Or. Well. It’s hard to explain. They can’t take care of me. Grandma and grandpa come over to try and bring me back sometimes. That’s why they’re always yelling at my parents.”

“...Oh.” Daichi had so many questions he wanted to ask. Some of them sounded a little too personal, so he asked the only question he didn’t think would cross the line.

“...Do you want to go back?” Hibiki spoke about it in a cautious tone. It was almost as if his answers were rehearsed, or as if he had wanted to tell someone for a long time but feared the repercussions of his words. Considering he was in the middle of what appeared to be a custody fight, it would not be unsurprising if he was just reciting the same answers he told other people during this feud.

“I don’t know. They’re nice but… I don’t know if my other family was that nice. I don’t remember anything about them, or where I used to live.” The way Hibiki phrased it sounded a little odd, so Daichi tried to get something cleared up.

“Did you move here when you were adopted?”

“Yeah. Three years ago… I think?” Daichi was bad at math, but it sounded as if Hibiki could not remember much below the age of seven. It raised a red flag in his mind. Something about this just didn’t seem right, and he did not want Hibiki to go back there no matter what.

“Are you allowed to visit your real parents?” He would have withdraw his question almost instantly had Hibiki not answered sharply.

“No.” They could only dig deeper.  
“C-can I ask why?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know why either.” Hibiki played through the level so flawlessly. It was muscle memory mostly, but it was almost as if this conversation did not strain him in the slightest.

“Mom says it’s because they were bad parents. That they hit their kids,” Daichi listened to Hibiki’s words carefully. The first time he brought it up, Hibiki acted as if he wanted nothing to do with the subject. Then again, that question was asked such a long time ago. It was safe to say Hibiki was starting to open up to him a lot more.

“-but I dunno. My grandparents say my mom lies, my mom says they lie… and I don’t remember, so I can’t say who’s right.” Hibiki leaned back against the couch. “-I just have to wait for the guys in suits to tell me where I’m going to live.” Living there really sounded like a bad idea. This was a lot to take in.  


“I’d miss you a lot.” It felt as if his lips moved on their own. Saying the first thing that came to mind was definitely not a smart idea, but that was how Daichi worked. Hibiki paused his game to look over at him.

“What do you mean?” Daichi bit his lower lip and looked off to the side nervously.

“If you go back… could I still visit you there? How far away would that be?” Hibiki tried to see if Daichi was joking, but the longer Daichi remained silent, the easier it was to take him seriously. It really started to sink in- the idea of a best friend. Someone would miss him if he moved away. That alone was enough of a reason for him to remain on his best behavior so he could remain in Tokyo.

“...I’ll stay here, Daichi.” Hearing Hibiki say it so sincerely made him feel safe. As if there was nothing to worry about.  
“...You sure?”   
“Yeah,” Hibiki un-paused the game and continued playing as he normally would. “-It’s fun here. The teachers are nice. I like the ramen place that’s close to our street, and I’ve got you!”

“You ranked me below ramen?”

“It’s very tasty ramen,” Daichi sighed and put his own controller down even if it was his turn to play. He practically admitted defeat.

“I lost to food…” Hibiki’s cheeks puffed slightly. He was desperately trying to hold back his laughter.

“...Want to try some of that ramen? There's some left in the fridge,” Daichi grabbed the nearest pillow on the couch and smacked Hibiki across the head with it.

“Stop talking about food! Think of something else!” Hibiki could not contain his laughter, and he moved his hands around in a desperate attempt to grab the pillow and unarm his friend. There was no way Daichi was going to let Hibiki off so easily after two years of friendship. No way at all.   
  
_Don’t worry. I’ll protect you._


	3. For Daichi

Hibiki’s house had become part of a safe heaven. When things got hectic in Daichi’s home, he was always able to sneak into Hibiki’s. Hibiki’s mother would not always approve of how often he visited, and that was where the story of the sprained ankle came from. After Hibiki’s mother prohibited visits for a while, Daichi and Hibiki would find ways to sneak out anyways. That was when Hibiki accidentally twisted his ankle when he climbed out of his window. Daichi suggested the idea as a joke, but when Hibiki offered a serious ‘okay’ as a reply, he knew something terrible was about to happen. The fall was a little too much, and their plans were quickly spoiled. Daichi had panicked and called Hibiki’s mom over right away. 

That story did not age well for Daichi, and it did not end there. It had been 7 years since then, and he wished the knowledge of his slip-up would just go away. Hibiki often made fun of him for it because of how exaggerated his reaction was. By the look he wore on his face, one would think he almost saw someone die. Hibiki made sure to tell him it was fine during the time it happened to help ease him of his guilt, but now, he laughed at the whole ordeal.

“Dude, don’t bring up embarrassing stuff like that!” Hibiki grinned and had his character slash through Daichi’s with a giant sword. The colorful letters on the screen showed a victory animation for player 1.   
“I win,”   
“Because you cheated. This is why no one else wants to play with you,” Hibiki leaned his head to the side and placed his hand over his chest to make a sorrowful expression.   
“Oh, you wound me so,” Daichi rolled his eyes and waved his hand to tell Hibiki off. Unfortunately he accidentally also managed to smack Hibiki in the face during his little wave.   
“Ow. You didn’t actually have to wound me,”   
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to!”   
“Really? Judging by how often you’re losing, I’d say it was deliberate.”   
“Oh come on, to win i’d have to do more than smack you a little. I’d chop off at least one arm.” Hibiki liked the way Daichi was thinking.   
“Or a leg?” Daichi grumbled and threw his head back against the couch.   
“Why do you have to bring that up!? It was ten years ago! Get over it!”   
“Five,” Neither of them was right, but it was a long time ago after all.   
“Same!” Hibiki chuckled. No. Not the same. Not the same at all. Hibiki let his controller rest in his lap as he leaned his head against Daichi’s shoulder. Daichi was leaning against the couch with one arm over the back. His fingers restlessly rubbed against his forehead and traveled down to his jaw. He seemed nervous. 

“...How’s your ankle?” Hibiki raised his head to get a clearer look of Daichi’s face. He actually asked that question seriously.   
“It’s fine, Daichi,” Hibiki nudged Daichi’s hand with his own. “Just fine,”  
  


That he even had to ask anymore made Hibiki smile.   
  


* * *

  
It was not as if they lived together, but they spent practically every other night together when they had the time. Over the course of so many years, one often picked up on little quirks and habits the other would display. Daichi’s quirks often involved something akin to order. He would find items that looked out of place, asymmetrical, or just crooked, and try to rearrange them. Hibiki had thought he was imagining things, but when Daichi stopped to take a look at a painting in his house, only to grab it by its frame and readjust it, he was pretty much convinced Daichi had a overly exaggerated urge to keep things from looking messy. That was not his only quirk, but it was the only one Hibiki had the fortune of knowing about. Of course, every time he tried to point it out to him, he denied it.   
  
“Hibiki, I don’t have OCD. You’re exaggerating,” No, he was not, but hearing Daichi deny it was humorous. Daichi had walked downstairs to bring them drinks for their study session. When he returned to the room, he could already tell what it was that he did wrong. Hibiki turned to him, ready to open his mouth and point it out. Say what he might, there were plenty of odd quirks Hibiki had that Daichi had no idea how to explain.   
  
“Oh, close th-”   
“The door behind myself, yeah, yeah,” Like his compulsive need to always keep doors closed. Daichi sighed and kicked the door shut. It was not done out of anger, but out of irritation. This had happened so many times now that he could finish Hibiki’s sentences for him. “That’s the fifth time today. I keep telling you, just let it stay open! We’re walking in and out all the time.” Hibiki smiled and turned around in his office chair to look straight at Daichi, leaving his pen and paper at the desk.   
  
“It’s just easier to focus when the door is closed. Also, knock when you enter, it’s polite.”   
“Knock knock, who is it, oh take a wild guess? Who else can it be!? I’m the only one in the house.” The longer you got to know someone, the easier it was to notice their little mannerisms. Hibiki had a whole lot of them he caught onto early, some of them very obvious, and some of them less obvious. This was one of the more painfully obvious quirks that fit the visual of a giant warning sign with a matching siren. One would really have to go out of their way to ignore Hibiki not to notice it.   
  
“I swear, sometimes I feel like you’re out to torture me,”   
“Yes, Daichi. I have faked this preference for years just to torment you. You’ve finally caught me red-handed. What are you going to do about it?” Daichi grinned and grabbed Hibiki’s chair by the head to spin him around in a circle. Hibiki put his arms up and enjoyed the ride that made all the colors in the room blend into a giant mess. Daichi stopped the movement almost abruptly with his palm, and loomed over Hibiki’s form. Hibiki took the opportunity to play with Daichi’s yellow scarf, pulling him a little closer with every tug of his wrist.   
  
“So,” Hibiki started, a grin on his face. Daichi matched his expression, although he was not sure why Hibiki was grinning at him. He cocked his head to the side slightly, as if to ask Hibiki to speak up.   
“So?... What?” Daichi drummed his fingers against the chair’s armrest, trying to pass time while Hibiki made up his mind. Without much thought, Hibiki pulled Daichi closer by his scarf and rubbed their noses together.   
“Eskimo kisses? Really? It’s been forever since we did this,” Daichi grinned and nuzzled close. “-the tip of your nose is still an icicle, as always,” Daichi felt like doing a victory dance when he heard Hibiki groan.    
“You were more adult about it when you were eleven,” Daichi let his free hand gently come up to brush Hibiki’s cheek. The back of his fingers softly ghosted over his skin, barely touching ever-so briefly. Hibiki shivered and tensed up, not expecting him to do something so bold while they were this close.    
“It feels nice like this, it’s kind of comfortable,” Daichi was comfortable, so comfortable that it made Hibiki uncomfortable. Why was he not freaking out? Why was he not stuttering? What was going on? He was starting to become hyper-aware of how close their faces were to one another. Far too close for his nerves to handle.   
  
Unaware that Daichi was keeping his hand at the armrest of the chair rather than on the head, Hibiki spun the chair around and managed to knock Daichi flat on his face with a yelp. When he heard the sudden fall he jumped out of his seat and pushed the chair back.   
“Daichi! I’m sorry, that wasn’t-!”   
“Ow, ow, ow, screw torture, you’re trying to kill me,” Daichi had his hands clasped over his nose, and his voice came out stuffed as a result. Hibiki winced when he noticed that pushing his chair back only managed to hit Daichi in the face as well, and he knelt down to help him sit up straight.   
“Did I hit you too hard?”   
“No, you hit me just the right amount,” Hibiki narrowed his eyes and punched Daichi in the arm lightly before cupping both his cheeks to examine his face.   
“Um… okay, it might not leave a bruise.” Keyword being  _ might _ .   
“For once, it was not me who ruined the mood,”   
“I, and that.”   
“You and what?”   
“No, it’s ‘for once it was not I that ruined the mood’. We’re studying Japanese, so I thought-”   
“...You push me down to the ground, punch me, and then you correct my grammar.” Hibiki smiled and rubbed Daichi’s upper arm soothingly.   
“Do I need to apologize again?”   
“I don’t need an apology, I need better health insurance,”    
  
He was thinking about starting to wear a helmet.   
  
Just in case.

 

* * *

   
  
Certain days were special. Of course, Daichi liked to be corny just to make Hibiki roll his eyes, claiming every day with him was special. However, today he had planned everything perfectly, all except one tiny detail. Hibiki. Hibiki was supposed to come up and meet him at the rooftop for lunch, and he was not responding to his texts. They texted rather regularly, but sometimes, Hibiki would be occupied with a conversation, or a task, and he would not look up at his phone until the task was finished. Today was not a convenient day for him to follow through with normal routines, so Daichi decided to text him again.

  
“Hibiki.” No response. He tried again.   
“Hibiki.” He pouted and continued to send texts in small bursts.   
“Hibiki, answer, pls,”   
“Hibiki, I have to tell you something.”   
“It’s important.”   
“Reeeeeally important, my dude,”   
“Hibiki, I’m serious, c’mon,”   
“Hibikiiiiiiiiiiii,”   
“HbOKI!”  
“AAAAAAAAAAAA!” The messages were really only sent a second or two apart from each other. He barely gave Hibiki enough time to reply. It was so quick that when Hibiki actually called him without warning, he nearly dropped his phone.   
  


“Daichi, what is it?” Daichi grinned and pulled up two plastic containers from his backpack along with a bottle of soda.   
“I missed you,” There was a drawn-out silence on the other end before he could hear Hibiki sigh. Hibiki thought it was something serious from the tone Daichi put forward. From the speed of those texts, he assumed Daichi lost a limb. Daichi could hear the frustration in his voice when he replied.   
“Daichi, I swear to God! Ugh!” Hibiki did sound cute when he was upset. Not that Hibiki wasn’t cute in general. He tried to shake that thought away quickly not to get distracted. Well, that was weird.   
“-aaaand, I made Takoyaki,” There was another silence, but this one seemed void of aggression. Hibiki’s mood had completely turned.   
“I’m on my way,”   
“Do you even know where to go?”   
“The roof, as usual?” Daichi nodded before he realized nodding was absolutely useless in a conversation over the phone, so he confirmed it verbally before hanging up. It did not take Hibiki too long to reach him.   
  
They sat on the school rooftop frequently to get some privacy. It was usually where they had lunch, or where Daichi went to cut class if he was not feeling up for it. 

That was the old days, the times where Daichi did not care too much for his studies. He seemed to be getting more diligent day by day, and while he was not among the highest on the scoreboard just yet, he was definitely performing better.   
  
Daichi would tease Hibiki for saying corny things, even if Hibiki thought Daichi was corny dialogue personified. ‘It’s thanks to you that I’m doing better,’. It was true that Hibiki helped him study, but it was a team effort.   
  
Hibiki enjoyed being Daichi’s best friend, but he also wanted to be the kind of best friend that would occasionally make him utter that small cry whenever he got hugged or squished a little too tight. Was there any reason he couldn’t be both? It was so comfortable in Daichi’s embrace. So at peace. He parted his lips to speak. Maybe asking it outright wasn’t such a bad idea. 

Would you- no. Can I- that sounded better.   
  
“Daichi, can I-” Too bad he was interrupted.   
“Oh, right! Airi just invited us to the arcade. You wanna go? It’s your call, man.” Right. Daichi liked girls. That was obvious. He pressed his lips together, and took it as a sign to not ask. An uncomfortable feeling spread through his stomach.  _ What the hell was I just about to ask him? _ _   
_ _   
_ “Didn’t she want to go with Jungo?” Daichi checked a few messages on his phone, and Hibiki cursed the fact he seemed so glued to it at a time like this. Hibiki’s own mind was focused on trying to remember the question that had completely escaped him. _ I don’t remember. Maybe I… Imagined it. _ _   
_ “Yeah, but it turns out he’s going looking for his cat.”   
“Jungo Jr?” Daichi chuckled.   
“He didn’t even have the wits to call him Jungo Jr. It’s just Jungo. I can’t believe someone like him scored higher than me in our exams…” He rolled his eyes and put his phone back into his pocket.   


“If Jungo lost his cat, maybe we should help him look for it.” Daichi had thought about it, but did not expect Hibiki to actually suggest they literally go cat fishing.    
“Are you sure? I mean… it totally wrecks all our plans.” Daichi could tell Hibiki was in low spirits, but he was not sure why.   
“Yeah. I like his cat. It’d be sad if he went missing.” Hibiki pulled away, and Daichi tried not to miss the warmth near his neck.   
“Hey… Is everything-?” He was not sure what to ask but something definitely seemed wrong, and Hibiki was not helping him along by looking so indifferent. “No… nevermind.”    
“If Airi helps search as well, we’ll get to the arcade faster after classes end.”   
“Sure. Let me give him a call. Let’s commence operation-!” The pause was awkward, but unavoidable. “...K-kitty? Find the kitty? I should have probably thought of a name before I made a grand announcement.”  _ This is why we think before we speak.  
  
_

They were originally going to go in teams of two, but Jungo figured they could cover more ground if they searched all corners of the school. Since there were four of them, that made their search pretty simple. Airi and Jungo took one side of the school, while Hibiki and Daichi split up on the other.

Their school was rather huge, so they had to search both indoors and outdoors, stopping a few students along the way to ask if they had seen a cat. There were no clues for at least two hours of thorough searching, and just when all hope seemed lost, Hibiki heard meowing.

When he followed the source, he found the cat resting on a tree branch, licking its fur. Great. Cats in trees. The only person out of four people who could not do physical exertion was handed the task of climbing a tree. Hibiki scratched the back of his neck, looking for other solutions.   
  
“Come on, Jungo. Jump! Er… that name really doesn’t fit.” Hibiki sighed. Why did it have to be a tree? This was more Daichi’s thing. Although, if his life with Daichi taught him anything, it was how to climb trees and other people’s property successfully, save that one time he sprained his ankle. The worst that could happen was a bad fall, and that was something he was willing to risk just so they could go back and try to salvage the rest of the day. Now that he gave it more thought, why did cats even climb trees if they were too stupid to get down? He had no idea, but he had to do something, so he placed his hands on the tree and tried to find a way up. 

The good news were that he found a way up. The bad news were that he had no clue how to get down.   
  
“Great. I’m no smarter than a cat.” Jungo meowed and rubbed his head against Hibiki’s neck. 

“You be quiet. This is all your fault, but you’re cute, so you’re forgiven,” There was another meow as Jungo licked Hibiki’s cheek.    
“Well, that’s as close to a kiss as I’ll get, I guess. Thanks for the birthday gift, Jungo,” Hibiki scratched the cat behind its ear before drawing long strokes along its back. It purred in response and closed its eyes to rub its head against Hibiki’s neck again. Jungo seemed to be rolling over on his back in Hibiki’s arms. Hibiki softly ran his fingers over his tummy to calm him, and Jungo moved his paws over Hibiki’s fingertips to pull them into his mouth. The cat’s teeth were not really that sharp- he was still a kid, after all. Hibiki laughed and pulled away to rub the underside of Jungo’s neck.   
“Sorry, I’m taken,” Jungo meowed again. “-but, hey! If Daichi doesn’t come around, maybe I’ll consider dating you instead.” Jungo turned his head and licked his teeth. His ears twitched a little. He clearly had no clue of what Hibiki was going on about. Why would he? He was a cat. The air suddenly felt ten times colder.   
  
“God… I’m talking to a cat. This is depressing…” He could feel a pinch in his chest, and his throat was starting to feel tight. He moved his hand into his pocket to grab his inhaler just in case. Jungo quickly started clawing at the little item.   
“No,” Hibiki pulled at it, but Jungo’s grip did not ease. The cat bit into the inhaler and licked the outside.   
“This is not for you. If you don’t let me have it, I’m going to-” Jungo’s foot managed to kick it out of his hands, and he was not quick enough to grab it before it fell to the ground.   
“Well, that’s inconvenient.” He grabbed Jungo tightly and held him up to meet his gaze. “You’re going to kill me you stupid cat! Stupid Jungo!-” He had completely glossed over the fact he was breathing just fine.   
“Jungo! Airi? ...Daichi?” There was only one option left. Choke to death, or jump down. If he jumped, he’d break a leg. Then again, if he remained in the tree, he’d choke until he passed out, and then break a neck from the fall. While imagining different grotesque scenarios, he realized that there was nothing inherently wrong with his breathing, and relaxed. Jungo looked like a small angel in his arms, fluffy and cute. In reality, this demon cat was planning on getting away with the perfect murder.  
  
“Hibiki!” He knew they should not have split up. “Hibiki! You found Jungo! Awesome!” Daichi would have celebrated more had he not accidentally kicked something as he ran towards them. He found Hibiki’s inhaler near the trunk of the tree, and quickly grabbed a hold of it to toss it back up. Hibiki glared at Jungo, who immediately tried to play with it again as if it was a toy. In a clumsy attempt to put it away, Jungo managed to knock it out of his hands a second time, only for Daichi to catch it. He held it between his thumb and index finger before putting it into his pocket.

“I’ll just hang on to this for a while,” Thank God for Daichi. Hibiki held Jungo back this time, and managed to calm himself enough for them to have a normal conversation. He counted his lucky stars the damn thing didn’t break on the fall down thanks to this horribly agile cat.   
  
“Are you okay? You have to jump.”   
“I think that’s a bad idea…”   
“Hibiki, I’ll catch you, I promise.”   
“I’ll crush you!”   
“I was gonna say ‘the suggestion box is open’ but I don’t think you can reach it from there.” True, he had no other choice. Hibiki held Jungo tightly in his hands before he looked down, already dreading the descent. Daichi had his arms spread wide. It looked as if he really could catch him, but Hibiki was expecting one of them to come out of this hurting. The reassuring smile on Daichi’s face helped him calm down, but he probably should not have closed his eyes when he jumped.

Expecting the cold embrace of death and darkness, he actually felt Daichi stand steady on his feet for two seconds before he let out a shriek and fell to the ground. The cat meowed and struggled to get out of Hibiki’s arms, but Hibiki kept his death grip on him. Similarly, Daichi had the same death grip on Hibiki, arms wrapped around him so tight he feared his ribs might break as a result. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that Daichi’s eyes were closed too, and he looked rather worried.   
“D-did everything work out? Say something. You’re not dead, right?”   
“I’m dead.” Daichi took a peek, but when he saw the smile on Hibiki’s face, he pushed him away as hard as he could.   
“What the hell!? Don’t scare me like that!”   
“Really? That scared you?”   
“S-stupid! Who told you to climb trees!? Who told you to climb anything, period!” Daichi quickly calmed himself and let his hand rest on Hibiki’s shoulder.   
“A-are you alright? Your asthma isn't acting up again, right?”

“No, Jungo just knocked it out of my hands. I’m good.”

“You really shouldn't let him play with your inhaler,”

“I wasnt-” It was about time someone interrupted their argument.

“Hibiki, are you okay? You look a little beat up.” That familiar voice belonged to Jungo. Apparently they came rushing over right away when they heard Daichi’s yell. Daichi pouted, a little happy, and a lot of embarrassed. It was not his fault his voice carried so far.

“Jungo almost killed me. No big deal.” It was a joke, but it was not taken as such.   
“Me? What did I do?” Jungo looked rather saddened, and it made Airi absolutely livid.   
“He’s talking about your cat, you moron!” Airi barked back, and kneeled down to pick the cat up. She let her hands gently stroke its back with a pleased smile as she turned to Hibiki and Daichi. “Thank you. We really owe you one for finding Jungo for us.”   
“No problem.” Hibiki smiled, but Daichi could tell it was a tad forced.

  
“Sorry guys. I don’t think I should go anywhere today. I feel like I should take care of my cat. He’s been through a lot today.” Daichi looked over at Hibiki, and shared Jungo’s sentiment. This was not the time to drop everything that happened. Besides, it was already dark out, and if they did not hurry home, their parents would know something was off. Their clothes were filthy from searching the school grounds up and down for Jungo’s cat, so it was already hard to explain their return. Jungo and Airi thanked them before running off. That left Hibiki and Daichi still standing at the school premises.   
  
Daichi stepped closer to Hibiki and placed his hands on his shoulders again.   
“You sure you’re okay?” He felt as if he was asking the question too many times, but it really was a rough landing.   
“Yeah, no sweat.” Hibiki placed both palms over his face before running his hands through his hair with a sigh. At least it was over.   
“Sorry… we didn’t really get to do much today.” Daichi’s apology was earnest, and Hibiki had a good clue as to why he sounded so distraught, but decided not to bring it up.   


“That’s fine.”   
“Really? I’m gonna be honest, I thought you’d be more upset.” When Hibiki remained silent, Daichi smiled and gave his shoulders a light shake.   
“Aww, you’re going to make me do it, aren’t you?” The look of confusion that spread across Hibiki’s face was priceless.   
“Huh? Do what?”   
“Turn that frown,” He placed his fingers at the corners of Hibiki’s cheeks and squished them upwards. “upside-down!”   
“I’m not frowning,”   
“I just worked my magic, of course you’re not frowning.”   
“Daichi,”   
“Whatever you say! I’ve waited to give this to you all day.” Daichi unzipped his shoulder-bag and pulled out a plastic container, along with a wrapped item. From the looks of the see-through container, it held two pieces of cake, but the decorations and writing on them were difficult to decipher. Daichi noticed it too, and figured it must have happened when they fell to the ground.   
“Damn it… The decorations came off… Oh well, there’s more back at my place if you want some.” The wrapped item was roughly as big as a book or a cd. However, Hibiki had never really seen a cake like the one Daichi was presenting. It looked home-made.  
  
“You baked a cake?”   
“You didn’t expect me to forget, did you? I mean, you’re only like, my best friend in the whole wide world,” He smiled brightly. “-Happy birthday~! I would sing to you but, um, I think we both know I’m not really doing you a favor if I make this voice try to harmonize,” The smile on Hibiki’s face came so naturally. He almost wanted to kick himself for even thinking Daichi would forget his birthday. While his family never made a big deal out of it, it was nice to see that Daichi was trying to make it into something special even if his parents agreed not to celebrate it.   


“Daichi,” He kind of enjoyed the way he barely got a word out. All he had to do was say his name, and Daichi quickly jumped in and made him feel so much better.   
“C’mon!~ Give me a hug. I deserve some comfort. You fell on me pretty hard and my body hurts all over.”   
“Sure,” Hibiki wrapped his arms around Daichi and smiled with content. It was small things like these that made him want to hold onto Daichi forever- that made him want Daichi to stay by his side forever.

“Would my hero like a thank you kiss?” Daichi would have laughed harder had Hibiki’s hot breath against his ear not served as a pretty good distraction.   
“Haha, I dare you,” Hibiki was tempted to push him on that challenge. Daichi let his fingers play with the edge of Hibiki’s uniform, rubbing his fingers over the fabric almost as if to push the idea of a kiss out of his head.   
“I’ll do it, Daichi. I’m serious,”   
“As if,” Daichi could feel Hibiki’s cheek on his. That feeling was nothing new. What did startle him however was the way Hibiki turned his head to press his lips against his cheek as promised. He felt his hands claw around the jacket, and when Hibiki felt him tense up, he moved away. That really was a kiss.   
  
“Oh, I… I guess you… really…” Daichi moved his hand up to his cheek before he moved it over his lips. He was not sure why he did so. Perhaps because he did not believe Hibiki actually kissed him, but maybe also because he thought it would be a kiss on the lips. 

_ Why would you think that, though? _   
  
“Sorry. Did I…-” It was only on the cheek. That shouldn’t count. At least, Hibiki hoped it did not count.   
“N-no um… It’s fine. You just… surprised me.” Daichi moved his hand away from his face and shoved it into the pocket of his pants instead. Hibiki took note of how Daichi refused to meet his gaze. It made him regret doing it so soon. That was probably for the better. He felt guilty for not stopping himself when he had the chance. He could have waited, but instead, he made Daichi feel uncomfortable. However, that thought was challenged when he saw Daichi glance in his direction with a grin on his face.   
  
“Hibikiiiii~” His voice spiked with enthusiasm. He actually looked happy. Hibiki almost stepped back when Daichi wrapped his arms around him. He could have sworn the kiss placed on his cheek was something he imagined. Hibiki’s attention was now only on Daichi, who was looking rather pleased with himself, arms still resting around Hibiki’s waist.   
  
“Hm? What’s wrong?” Hibiki averted his eyes elsewhere out of embarrassment.   
“Um…” Every word he used on a daily basis suddenly vanished from his vocabulary.    
“You think I’ll let you do that without getting back at you?”   
“Huh? So you were only doing it to get back at me?” Daichi murmured something low as an answer.   
“Well, not only… but it’s only fair that if you kiss me once, I get to do the same to you.”   
“Once…?” Daichi felt a little nervous when Hibiki looked at him with that smile of his. He had known Hibiki for so long he could tell what he was thinking just based on his smiles alone. This one told him he needed to pull back a little, but his reflexes failed him. Before he knew it, Hibiki had leaned in to place another kiss against his cheek.   
  
“Settle the score.” Hibiki loved the look Daichi had on his face. He was utterly lost.   
“W-what?”   
“Do you have to kiss me twice if I kiss you twice?”   
“...N-no?” Hibiki tried not to take Daichi’s response to heart. It was difficult to hide how humiliating it was to get a serious response in return to something he partly said to tease him. Although, when he saw Daichi stare back at him and mimic his kiss, he could feel his cheeks grow warmer.   
“B-but I’m settling the score anyways… It feels fair this way. When someone gives you a kiss on the cheek, you kiss back, right?”   
“You sure it’s not your OCD?”   
“For the last time, I don’t have OCD. I just like things organized. What’s wrong with that?” Hibiki shrugged and leaned in close to place another kiss against Daichi’s cheek. This time, he could hear him let out a frustrated groan at the action. It only made him laugh.   
  
“H-Hibiki, this isn’t a fight!”   
“But if it was, I’d win,” Daichi narrowed his eyes. Hibiki always felt a small surge of pride whenever he said something that made Daichi pout.   
“Sorry to tell you this, but that’s totally not how it’s going to end,”   
“Daichi, you know it’s never going to end if you keep returning the kisses,”   
“So… It’s a game of tag. I can do that. I’m confident I’ll win.” A game of tag, only with kisses.   
“Hm? What makes you think that?” Hibiki leaned back a little when he felt Daichi’s hands rest on his shoulders.    
“Because I run faster than you.” It didn’t feel as if Daichi was opposed to the idea by how relaxed he looked. He leaned in to place another kiss against Hibiki’s cheek, this time, with a little more determination. Hibiki tried to keep his mind from wandering; from thinking about how warm Daichi’s lips felt against his skin. He wrapped his arms around him, and relaxed when he felt Daichi hold him a little tighter.   
  
_ Thank you, Jungo. You saved the day.  
_   
The sound of Hibiki’s phone going off startled him and had Hibiki pull away to take the call. Daichi ran his fingers over his cheek lightly, trying to rub the heat away. It was easy to tell who Hibiki was talking to when he spoke English.   
  
“...Oh.” Hibiki looked worried. “...Next month?” Daichi wondered if Hibiki glanced in his direction for a second, or if that was just his imagination. “Can’t. Sorry.” He moved the phone away from his ear with a pained expression, and Daichi could hear someone yell on the other end. It was a familiar voice, but Daichi had a hard time making out just who it was. It was definitely one of Hibiki’s family members, though. That much was obvious from the language he was speaking in.   
  
“Why? Hm…” Daichi understood nothing of what was being said. Well, he did understand the english, but without context, Hibiki might as well have been speaking italian for all he knew. Hibiki’s expression suddenly turned stiff as he replied. “Because I don’t want to go. Bye.” The person on the other line continued speaking up until Hibiki cut them off. He ended the call and brought the phone back into his pocket.   
  
“So… What was that all about?” The silence Hibiki offered in return to his question made him worry a little. Although, Hibiki was quick to give him a smile.   
“Nothing for now.” Daichi did not like the sound of that sentence, specifically the last two words.   
“Hibiki?”   
“Don’t worry about it.”

 

* * *

 

Sometimes, Daichi’s classes ended before Hibiki’s did, and on those days, Daichi had two options. He could either leave the school premises or stay behind to wait for Hibiki’s classes to finish. Daichi ended up waiting sometimes if he was eager to take Hibiki on a shopping spree, but in most cases he walked home. That was, to Hibiki’s home. Every time. So, every time Hibiki walked through the door he instantly expected Daichi to greet him with that normal high pitched ‘Hibikiiiiii’ he had grown so accustomed to. Today however, Daichi seemed so focused that he barely acknowledged Hibiki had arrived safely. When he stepped closer, he realized why Daichi seemed so preoccupied.  
  


“You’re cooking with my mom again?”

“Yeah! She’s really good in the kitchen.”

“Um, Daichi, you’re 15 now.” That seemed like an odd thing to bring up.

“Uh, yeah?” Hibiki smiled fondly.

“...You can walk back home to your own place no problem.” Daichi looked a little flustered. It was true that his friday classes ended before Hibiki’s did, and by that logic, he should not have to come to Hibiki’s house.

“But your house is where all the good food is!” Hibiki’s mother had stopped trying to police Daichi’s visits. The boy helped out around the house every once in awhile and seemed interested in cooking. That helped dinner get made a lot faster. If it was up to her, she wouldn’t mind borrowing Daichi for a while. Hibiki rolled his eyes. It almost looked as if he was a little jealous. Whether he was jealous of Daichi or his mother was still something he was trying to figure out.

“So, you like to cook?”

“I’ve shared my lunch with you for years and this is the first time you notice my cooking?” Daichi took notice to the surprised look on Hibiki’s face, and felt a little proud.

“...You make your own lunch?”

“Yeah! I always make my own lunch. It’s not like mom and dad have time for it.” Hibiki chuckled.

“You make me look spoiled in front of my mom,” Hibiki’s mother was too focused decorating the desserts to notice their conversation.

“Let me spoil you with good food! It’s the one single thing I’m actually good at. Let me have my bragging rights.” There was so much more Daichi was good at, but if Hibiki wanted dinner to be done in the next hour or so, he had to step out and let them take care of the preparations.

“When you’re done here, we need to study for the upcoming exam.” Daichi sighed. He knew what Hibiki was going to say but he really did not want to hear it.   
“For Daichi!” He laughed and took a hold of Daichi’s hand to raise it up high. Daichi only glared at him apathetically and replied in the most unamused voice he could muster.   
“Woo-hoo.”    
“Hey, Daichi,” Hibiki cupped his hand over his lips as if he was planning to tell Daichi a secret. Curious, Daichi leaned closer, only to have Hibiki press his lips against his cheeks and quickly speed towards the stairway leading up to his room.   
  
“H-hey!” Daichi would have followed had he not held a spatula in his hand that needed washing. “...You sneaky little-” When he noticed Hibiki’s mom was looking at him oddly, he held his tongue and laughed it off. “J-just a game of tag! It’s silly, really…”   
  


They ate upstairs not to bother Hibiki’s parents. Daichi had planned on watching a quick episode of a running sitcom but was cut off by Hibiki who insisted they study during their meal. There was only one word in Daichi’s mind to perfectly describe his best friend. Workaholic. With work ethics that implied ‘If you don’t get the correct answer, I’m going to make you do two more exercises as penalty’ it was impossible not to lose his mind. Hibiki was a good tutor, but Daichi still got a headache from their math homework.   
  
This time, Hibiki thought about making it into a game. Every time Daichi got the correct answer, he’d get to take a bite of his food. The food could get cold during the time it took Daichi to jot down the answer, but that only served as an added motivator to get the work done quicker. Hibiki followed a similar pattern, but managed to get his answers down faster because he was familiar with the formula in their workbook. Daichi was struggling a little, but he handled it just fine even if he was slower.   
  
Everything was going smoothly up until they ran out of food. That killed one of the motivators to study, and Hibiki was not sure if he could find something to replace it quick enough for Daichi not to worm his way out of studying.   
  
“How about this,” Hibiki started, but was unsure of the idea the moment he opened his mouth. Even so, Daichi needed a push to keep going, and he was running out of ideas. “Every time you get an answer correct, I’ll give you a little reward.” That did not sound like a bad idea.   
“What kind of reward?”   
“Your choice,” A smile spread across Daichi’s face. This looked promising- and completely exploitable.    
“You sure you wanna give me that power?” Now that Daichi pointed it out, maybe it was too much.   
“On second thought,” That little abrupt change of thought clearly made Daichi a little nervous.   
“You can’t take it back! It’s already decided! Let’s get this done,”  _ Aaand, this is how you keep him in check when he wants to sneak off and play video games. _ Hibiki bit into the corner of his lip to stop himself from punching the air with excitement. Daichi’s attention had been successfully averted from thinking of more fun things. It was a little wrong to manipulate him, but he told himself Daichi would thank him later for it. When Daichi finished writing down the answer for one quiz, Hibiki scanned the math and compared with his own calculation.   
  
“Correct,” He smiled, “-here’s your reward,” and leaned in close to brush his lips against Daichi’s cheek. Daichi did not pull away, but he looked a little conflicted.   
“W-wait. I thought I was supposed to decide the reward?”   
“Do you want something else?” Daichi’s mouth was hanging open as if he had something he wanted to say.   
“I uh…” He hummed for a rather long time, drawing out his reply as if to find a substitute to the kisses. “No. No, not at all. This is fine.” When he realized he’d actually prefer this type of payment, he made an added effort to finish another answer, and as promised- Hibiki pressed his lips against his cheek yet again as a reward. It felt nice, but it was a little distracting and made him lose focus on the math.   
  
“C-can I, um,” Daichi looked off to the side. The way he was avoiding eye-contact worried Hibiki a little.   
“What’s wrong?”   
“...Can I save them? You know, for when I finish the three pages?” Hibiki cocked his head slightly before flipping through the pages Daichi spoke of to do a quick head-count.   
“Daichi, that’s seven assignments.”   
“I-I know…” Daichi intertwined his fingers and twiddled his thumbs nervously. “It’s just- It wouldn’t distract me that much if they came at once.” Hibiki did his best to stop himself from smiling, and nodded in silent agreement. If that was going to make it easier on Daichi, then he did not mind the wait. It was calming to see him so invested in math for once, and Hibiki took pleasure in the small change of expression when Daichi got stuck on a specific part. Minutes passed, and before he knew it, Daichi was already claiming he had finished all the assignments Hibiki told him to do. With curious eyes, Hibiki scanned each answer, and compared with his own notes. He did so for a minute or two, and Daichi was getting a little impatient. That feeling subsided the moment he saw Hibiki smile his way.    
  
“You did it.” He felt a surge of pride at the comment.   
“Yes! Nailed it.”   
“Well, 6 out of 7. Still, that equals six kisses.”   
“Wait, really? No way, what did I get wrong?” His eyes scanned the notebook closely. The sight was rather precious. Daichi looked as if he forgot what it was he was looking forward to at the end of the session.   
“Daichi,” Hibiki noticed he was too focused to hear him call. He decided to wait it out until Daichi put the pen down.   
“Ok, I think I fixed it. How about this?” Hibiki let his hand lay rest on Daichi’s to gently pull his fingers aside. He could feel Daichi’s fingers twitch at the sudden warmth, so he let go once he could see the calculation in full context.   
“...You just messed up an exercise you got correct.” Hibiki leaned back and looked over at Daichi to see the lost look on his face, but Daichi did not look bothered at all. Daichi was looking straight at him, one hand resting on the floor, and the other, twirling a yellow pen in his hand out of boredom. Hibiki had no idea where he got this kind of confidence from, but it was rather endearing to see him so sure of himself. In all honesty, he looked really good when he was confident. Daichi narrowed his eyes as if to intimidate Hibiki, but that only made Hibiki smile.   
  


“You’re lying to me.” Hibiki leaned back a little more, and tried to put some distance between them. He pressed his lips together and looked off to the side, desperately trying to give off an innocent appearance.    
“You can’t tell.”   
“Can too! Dude, you’re such an awful liar!” Daichi pulled himself closer to Hibiki to poke his side. “C’mon, you know what you have to do!” He continued poking Hibiki lightly in the arm, as if to nudge him to fulfill his promise. Hibiki planned on keeping his word.   
  
“Good job, Daichi,” Hibiki finally turned to look at him before he placed his hands on Daichi’s waist. “So, where do you want the kisses?” Their position, and the way Hibiki had asked the question made that same feeling of nervousness bubble up in his chest.   
“W-where?”   
“This is the part where you get to decide.” Daichi did not think he should be allowed to handle power of this magnitude. It was so easy for him to tell Hibiki to do something lewd or ridiculous, but he did not find himself considering the options. Hibiki trusted him enough to let him decide something like this on his own, and knowing Hibiki, there was almost no chance he would back out of a promise.   
  
“...Cheek,” Hibiki pressed his lips against Daichi’s cheek as asked. It felt as normal as it ever felt, so he tried something a little different. It was Hibiki’s own fault for suggesting he could have control over the situation. All Daichi was interested in was seeing exactly how far Hibiki would go on his request.   
“Neck,” That might have been too much to ask, but Hibiki did as he told him to do. The new feeling sent a strange shiver through his body, and he found his lips move on their own accord.   
  
“L-” He tensed up and stopped himself from saying something on impulse. “L-lower…” Hibiki did as asked, and placed a kiss a small shadow away from his previous one. Daichi closed his eyes, and tried to block out the little voice that knew what he actually wanted to ask Hibiki to kiss the third time. He desperately wanted to place the request again.   
  
“Daichi,” He tensed up when he felt Hibiki’s warm breath over his skin. “-where do you want the rest of the kisses?” It felt comfortable to have Hibiki’s hands on his waist, his lips on his neck, and his body so close. It was actually the reason Daichi decided to spin the responsibility back and lay it on Hibiki instead.   
“Wherever,” He was so sure his voice would fail him somewhere if he continued to ask for kisses. It was safest to let Hibiki have the liberty of doing as he wished.   
“Huh?”   
“Do whatever you want…”   
  
When Hibiki found himself kissing Daichi’s cheek again, he pulled away just a little to get a better glimpse of his best friend’s expression. His cheeks were rosy and his eyes were closed, probably mentally preparing himself for what was about to come. With Daichi’s permission, Hibiki placed his hands over his cheeks and watched him carefully. It was tempting to just lean closer and place a kiss on his lips. Daichi was not pulling away, so Hibiki leaned even closer, his mind giving in to the temptation. Daichi had to be aware of what was coming. Then Hibiki remembered that this was Daichi he was thinking about, and that Daichi most likely had no clue of what he wanted to do.   
  
“Wait,” It was a last minute decision. Daichi felt the warmth of Hibiki’s hands leave his cheeks, and he opened his eyes.   
“One, two… That was seven.”   
“Oh.” Daichi had lost count. A part of him wished Hibiki did, too. The closest they got right now was something akin to eskimo kisses, and while that was well and good, it did not feel as if it was supposed to end there.   
“...So, um. That’s it.” _ I can’t do it. _ He almost found himself frustrated with his own choice.  _ Why the hell not? _

  
“Wait, does this mean I have to kiss you too?” Hibiki was going to say it was not part of their game of tag, but part of a reward system that was separate from it, but who was he to argue with free kisses?   
“I guess so.”   
“If I got to decide last time, do you get to decide this time around?”  _ Oh my God, Daichi. You should stop talking for your own good. _ Hibiki was just going along with every little thing Daichi said, even if he had not thought that far ahead. Who was he to turn down something like this?   
“I… guess so.” Perhaps it was exploiting the situation, but Daichi was offering it of his own volition, so there could not possibly be any victims in this case. When Daichi’s hand came up to cup his cheek, he could feel his face burn. Being on the receiving end really did something to his cognitive skills, because all too suddenly it felt as if he could not understand math at all. He tried to tell himself he imagined the way Daichi’s fingers softly brushed against his skin as if to calm him down.

“So… what do you want me to do?”

“...Do whatever you want.”

“Are you sure?” There was a smile on Hibiki’s face. It was easier to give Daichi the freedom to decide, rather than force him to do something he was not comfortable with. Daichi leaned in to press his lips against Hibiki’s cheek before placing a kiss on his jaw, and the kisses continued down his neck from there. Hibiki was not sure when Daichi’s hand had come to wrap around his middle, or when he pressed their bodies together to hug, but he was starting to feel a little dizzy. The touch of Daichi’s lips on his neck made him breathe out to calm himself. It was so hot in the room, and he could sense the heat off Daichi’s fingers through two layers of clothes. When Daichi placed a kiss right below his ear and breathed warmly against his skin, he lost his composure.

  
“Mn…”   
“Hibiki?”   
“Bruise,” Hibiki pulled away and placed his hand over his ear to try and tune out Daichi’s voice. “-somewhere. Here. Yeah. Jungo accidentally kicked me during soccer practice.”   
“...In the neck?” Hibiki knew it sounded unbelievable, but it was the story he had to stick to.   
“He’s tall.” His only saving grace was hoping that Daichi would leave it at that.   
“Um, Okay. How many was that… One, two-”   
“Seven.” He lied. He had to.   
“You sure?” It felt more like six.   
“Yep.” Even if he was not telling the truth, he knew Daichi would not challenge him on it. At least, not without confessing he wanted to kiss him one more time. Had Daichi wanted to speak up, he would not have gotten the chance. Before they knew it, Hibiki’s mother had knocked at the door and informed Daichi it was time for him to go back home.    
  
Daichi made sure to place a kiss on Hibiki’s forehead the moment his mom had her back turned.   
“Seven. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Hibiki would have tried to hold onto him harder had he realized Daichi would pull away so quickly. Hibiki watched him sprint to the door, and leave in a hurry before he had the time to reply. At the same time, he could hear the faintest sound of a tiny violin orchestrate the feelings he was experiencing deep down in his soul.   
  
_ I’m going to die alone. _   
  


Poetic.  
  


* * *

  
The scores for their exams were already up, and a huge crowd had gathered to check the results. Hibiki frowned slightly as he checked the scoreboard. Daichi was practically howling.

“Dude! We both made it to the top 10!” Hibiki was unimpressed with his score, since he was usually among the top three, and was reduced much lower this time around. To see Hibiki up among the top 10 was unsurprising, but the real shock came when Daichi noticed exactly where his own name was placed.

“Oh my God, wait, I scored higher than you!?” He grinned widely and punched the air with excitement. “The student has become the master!” Hibiki silently wished Daichi would not have yelled loud enough for the entire school to hear. There it was, simple black on white. Daichi had definitely scored higher than him in the exams.

“Aw, don’t be upset! I had a better teacher than you,” Hibiki had a crooked grin on his face.

“Is that a compliment?”

“Dude! I’ve never been in the top 10! I’ve also never ranked higher than you. This is a big step for me. Let me live it up a little.” Now that they got that settled, there was another matter Hibiki was dying to bring up, and this was the perfect occasion.    


“Does that mean you get to buy the food?”

“Yea- wait, what?”

“The one that scores highest buys the other comfort food. That’s our unwritten rule.”

“I only made that deal because I thought the universe would collapse in on itself if I scored higher than you.”

“Daichi,”

“A promise is a promise! Let’s celebrate!” Hibiki smiled at how excited Daichi seemed. He looked so ridiculously giddy- ready to announce his victory over the education system. He had his hands plastered on his face, trying to hide the fact he was grinning from ear to ear. It was kind of cute.

“Good job,” Hibiki gave him a solid pat on the back that made him stagger.  _ Hibiki, you and your titan arms. Take it easy on me. _

“So... you’re not upset or anything?” The question genuinely confused Hibiki.

“I’m proud of you. You worked really hard, and it shows,” Hibiki took enjoyment in the surprised look on Daichi’s face. Daichi averted his eyes and stared down at the floor, a small blush dusted his cheeks.

“T-That’s really only because you were helping me. It’s as much my achievement as it is yours,”

“Daichi, you’re still paying for the food,” Hibiki noticed how he was trying to subtly give him all the credit, and interrupted before he got too far. Daichi pouted, thinking this was a little unfair.

“Whyyyyy?”

“Because who knows when you’ll rank higher than me again. This might be the only time I get to eat for free.”

“Wow! You are! So mean! Even if… that’s… technically accurate.” Hibiki laughed and let his hand rest on Daichi’s shoulder.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat,”

“If you say ramen, I’m gonna kill you,”

“R...ice and curry?” This was the third time they had curry this week, and Daichi was starting to see a pattern. Hibiki was not against trying new things, but he always got stuck on a specific dish during a period of time and felt like eating nothing else. Daichi saw it his duty to drag him out of that hell and into a culinary dreamscape. 

“How about I cook you up something instead?”

“Wouldn’t that take a lot of time and effort?”

“You’re worth it! Plus, it gives me an excuse to use your kitchen, and an excuse to stay at your place,” Hibiki couldn’t help but to blush a little at the sentiment. He turned his gaze away, lips pressed into a thin line. Daichi cocked his head curiously and reconsidered his offer.   
  
“What’s wrong? No good?” No, it was perfect.

“...It sounds lovely.” If only his stomach could agree to wait a little. He did not have the heart to break it to Daichi that he was hungry right now.   
“I can’t wait to see the look on my dad’s face when I tell him-” The phone interrupted him, and he picked it up to see a familiar number flash on the screen. When Hibiki saw him smile, he knew it must have been his father, and he gave him a nudge to answer right away. Daichi was eager to share his test scores, and answered the call without hesitation.   
  
“Hi, dad! You’ll never guess what ha-” The look on Daichi’s face quickly changed. Hibiki had a hard time reading Daichi’s expression. He had never really seen him this lost before.    
“...What do you mean?” Daichi lowered his voice and allowed his father to speak. Hibiki could hear static and small murmurs of random words, but not enough to make out what was being said. He remained a fair distance away not to pry, but felt he needed to interject when Daichi brought the phone away from his ear and hung up while his dad was still talking.   
  
“Daichi?” Hibiki gently let his hand rest on Daichi’s shoulder.    
“Hey, Hibiki...” His voice wavered. “-how common is the surname Shijima?”   
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?...” The pale look on Daichi’s face was starting to worry him, but when he heard Daichi laugh he chucked it out as a misunderstanding. That was, until Daichi started talking without pausing to breathe.    
“No reason, haha, no reason at all, just curious. Can’t I be curious? What’s wrong with asking a simple question, nothing wrong, nothing wrong at all, questions are fun aren’t they, e-especially when I have so many of them-” He was talking so fast that Hibiki had to shake him to bring him back to reality. People were starting to stare at them.   
  
“Daichi, what’s wrong?” Hibiki’s worry spiked when he felt Daichi tremble.   
“Ha...haha… I’m not feeling so good. I think I’m going to sit down.”   
“Alright, I’ll find us a-” Hibiki wrapped his arms around Daichi when he looked as if he was going to faint, but he was not strong enough to keep him upright and that brought both of them to their knees.   
“Daichi!” His hands came up to cup Daichi’s cheeks, desperately trying to lock eyes with him. When he finally managed to get a closer look at his face, he felt a painful tug in his chest. Seeing Daichi of all people look apathetic and blank was one of the scariest things he’s ever had the misfortune of witnessing, and definitely a warning sign that something terrible had happened.   
  


“Daichi, are you okay? Daichi-!” He shook him again, but got no response.   
“Daichi… talk to me. What’s wrong? What’s going on?” The lingering silence was only making it more unbearable to wait for an answer. The longer he waited, the easier it became to accept that Daichi had completely tuned him out. He had the same look on his face when he wore that cursed headset in middle school. The crushing memories of those events only made Hibiki get louder to try and snap him out of his own head. He had stopped caring for how everyone was staring at them.   
  


“Daichi!” Hibiki could yell all he wanted, but Daichi could not hear him. He could punch him, and Daichi would more than likely still not blink. His eyes were not following him, and he looked ready to fall apart had Hibiki’s arms not come to wrap around him. Daichi was not returning the hug, or even moving. He lost track of time, of how many times he tried to speak with Daichi to bring him back to his senses. They had been sitting here for quite a while, and Hibiki could feel his legs grow stiff and his arms begin to hurt. That was when he felt Daichi’s body move against his, and heard the smallest, defeated whisper he’d ever heard him utter in the past seven years.   
  
“Let’s go back to class...”


End file.
